In this issue we discuss the last three commandments (Exodus 20). I pray that God’s guidelines would continue to direct your steps like stones in a path, providing you with safe passage through life.
“You shall not steal”
God is a giver; He gave us life, salvation in Jesus, his Holy Spirit as counselor, and also continuously provides for His people.
“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” – Ephesians 4:28
God expects His people also to work and be generous to others, as He is to us. Stealing is the opposite of end of generosity. It is taking (not receiving) from another that which is not rightfully yours.
There are many more opportunities for theft than ever before, besides the traditional snatching of an object. Copying/sharing music that you did not purchase, cheating on taxes, presenting the knowledge/ideas of another as your own without giving them credit for it, surfing the internet while you should be working, not tithing, using donations to the church to build an worldly empire rather than funding God’s work, falsely claiming benefits by not working when you should be contributing, working when you should be spending time with your family etc.
To give one must receive or earn something to give. Those who have more are expected to give more but everybody is expected to contribute in the best way they can. Stealing, taking what has not been rightfully earned or given, is never a right. The majority of theft in developed world has nothing to do with dire need, but with self-interest. Nobody enjoys being the victim of theft; we know by instinct that it is wrong.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”
“When he [satan] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” – John 8:44b
Satan lied to Eve. Eve lied to Adam. Adam and Eve lied to God. Man-kind’s fall from grace into sin was driven by lies.
Lying and gossip are the two most widely practiced sins in my opinion. Proclaiming that all politicians lie is not an exaggeration. The kingdom of darkness’ greatest weapons are lies and deceit. The truth just doesn’t matter when money, power or self-interest is involved.
Lies and gossip is destructive not only to the recipient but also to the one who commits the act. God regards lies of any form very seriously. Ultimately lies will cause many to be separated from God and suffer for eternity.
One’s words reveal the condition of your heart. Gossip will lead to isolation, destroy relationships and also the perpetrators reputation. As Christians we are called to speak the truth and trust in God to overcome our challenges in life. Standing in truth releases God’s power. This commandment that is so broadly disrespected will be the downfall of many.
“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.” – Proverbs 19:5
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” – Proverbs 21:23
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Mark 12:31
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Be happy with what God has given you and do not destroy your marriage, drown in debt or be driven to suicide in an attempt to keep up with the Jones’.
We should strive to live successful lives and be the best we can be, but money and possessions should never be the most important thing in our lives. Money and possessions in the absence of the first commandment (putting God first) never produce lasting happiness. You will always want more and have to step over the corpses you have left behind on the road to “riches”
We are called to celebrate the success of others and to be thankful for what we have received from and achieved with God’s blessing ourselves.
God does not expect us to be somebody other than the person He made us to be. There is freedom in being who we have been designed to be.
The next blog will be the last in the series and contain the conclusion of my take on the Ten Commandments.
Working on this series has certainly made me appreciate God’s intimate love for people.
Have a blessed week.